IF THE SOUTHWEST FLORIDA IN FOCUS WHEN THE CONVERSATIONS ARE DONE, THEN IT'S TIME TO TAKE ACTION IN FORT MYERS, A PLACE CALLED MIDTOWN.

WE'RE FINDING OUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE FOR PEOPLE WHO NOW CALL IT HOME.

MASSIVE CHANGES ON THE FOREFRONT OF UPCOMING ELECTIONS.

BUT BEFORE WE EVEN GET TO THAT POINT, WE'RE LOOKING AT WHAT THIS MEANS WHEN YOU SHOW UP TO VOTE AND WHAT ID YOU SHOULD HAVE WHEN YOU HEAD TO THE POLLS.

AND WE'VE BEEN COUNTING DOWN TO THE EDISON AWARDS, AN ANNUAL TRADITION HERE IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA.

AND NOW IT'S TIME TO LOOK AT WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO OUR COMMUNITIES.

HELLO, I'M JENNIFER CRAWFORD.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

THE MIDTOWN SECTION OF FORT MYERS IS GETTING A MAKEOVER.

WHILE TALKS HAVE CONTINUED FOR MORE THAN A DECADE, THE PLAN IS FINALLY MOVING FORWARD.

WGCU REPORTER YOUNJOO PARK SPOKE WITH RESIDENTS ON HOW THEY ENVISION QUALITY OF LIFE IN MIDTOWN.

The estimated population of Fort Myers was 100,000 residents last year.

Then there's Midtown.

This is a section of Fort Myers located just south of downtown.

And the way residents talk about it, Midtown sounds like a small town.

We get on our bicycles and, you know, we went around and we climb orange trees and got, you know, mangoes and stuff out of the tree.

And we went fishing inside the the little ditches and catching turtles and whatever else we can find in there.

So, I mean, it's a really nice area.

I love the area.

I don't and I don't never want to leave.

Evan Graves grew up here and is now a landlord of several properties.

He acknowledges that his old stomping ground could look a bit spiffy for, and needs a little TLC.

It's just it needs, it needs street lights.

Any sidewalks?

It needs it needs to be quiet.

It needs to mirror downtown Fort Myers because it is midtown.

Graves won't have to wait long.

Revitalization projects are in the works.

There are plans to demolish City of Palms Park and the News-Press building, so the neighborhood will lose out part of its history.

But there is also vision to improve safety, such as new street lights, the construction of a new Fort Myers Police Administration building, as well as the reconstruction of roads and sidewalks.

The Fort Myers City Council recently guaranteed $30 million of investment for Midtown revitalization, and residents are invested in its future.

New homeowners like Wendy Stein and Robert Thompson moved into Midtown last year and want to make it their neighborhood.

It's been really great that I get to live in Midtown, and then I just walk to work and I can walk home for lunch and, you know, patronize a local businesses.

And it feels like we live in a community here, which is nice.

Thompson says he is excited for new residential development to begin so that he can get more neighbors.

When we bought our home, we were excited for Halloween.

We said, oh, maybe we'll have trick or treaters, and there nobody ever came to our house.

We prepared just in case we're there.

We live in an area that the actual community is under utilized.

A blank slate for development creates a lot of potential, but also pitfalls to avoid.

This concern led Chrissy Penny well to voice her thoughts.

I think it's important to have investors who are truly invested in this town.

I think we've Fort Myers has been burned by a lot of a lot of people coming in with lots of money and building things.

And then then what?

You know, it's not really thought out.

So it's exciting to have Midtown like a project, really be truly it really feels like they're trying to make it encompassing, trying to really serve a community.

And what is this community going to look like and what is it?

What are its needs?

One goal of the city is to make Midtown a walkable urban core that will benefit people like Jenna Satterfield, who gets around in her walker.

One of the selling points was, oh, you're going to be three blocks from Lee Memorial Hospital.

I think, you know, I told him, I said, you know, that that's a good selling point.

Except for one thing.

I don't tend to spend a lot of time at Lee Memorial.

It's a place I avoid.

Over a dozen people gathered to contribute their vision for Midtown.

Urban designer Victor Dover led the public input session.

He says the city of Fort Myers is taking the right steps to involve everyone, and that his consultancies role is to crystallize their vision in planning.

There's a tendency to write sentences that sound good, that might be non-threatening, like, let's preserve that small town hometown feeling.

But when I say those words small town, hometown feeling, you get one mental picture, I get another, someone else gets another mental picture.

And we're not sure what that really means.

We draw images, draw, and make a drawing of it.

Then we said, this is what we aspire to be.

And it's a lot more reliable as a way of understanding what it is in each other's minds.

For panel, livability means not only development but also esthetics.

This community is screaming for art.

And so when I came here today, that's sort of my mission, is to make sure this community is thinking about the arts, too, and thinking about, especially with a new development, like, how does that come into play and how can we support that?

You know, because that's what really makes a community a community.

You know, it's it's not just buildings, right?

It's it's buy in from all over the place.

So preserving the character of Midtown while enhancing the quality of life is a complex juggling act, an act that will keep midtown bustling with activities over the next couple of years.

For GQ news, I'm Yeon Joo, Park.

>> THE CITY SAYS IT PLANS TO BEGIN PHASE ONE OF THE MIDTOWN REDEVELOPMENT BY THE START OF SUMMER.

WELL, COMING UP, IF YOU HAVE THAT FEELING THAT MAYBE YOUR VOTE DOES NOT MATTER.

WE'RE BREAKING DOWN A PROPOSAL THAT COULD CHANGE THE LANDSCAPE ABOUT LEE COUNTY COMMISSIONS.

LOOK, THAT'S COMING UP NEXT ON SOUTHWEST FLORIDA.

IN FOCUS.

LEE COUNTY HAS 5 DISTRICTS, EACH ONE REPRESENTED BY DIFFERENT COUNTY COMMISSIONER.

YOU CAN LIVE ANYWHERE IN LEE COUNTY AND VOTE FOR ALL 5 COMMISSIONERS.

THIS AT-LARGE VOTING HAS BEEN IN PLACE FOR DECADES.

BUT CRITICS OF AT-LARGE VOTING WANT RESIDENTS TO BE ABLE TO VOTE.

ONLY 4.

THE COMMISSIONER WHO REPRESENTS THEIR DISTRICT.

THIS IS CALLED SINGLE MEMBER DISTRICT VOTING VOTERS WILL GET TO DECIDE THIS ISSUE COMING UP IN NOVEMBER.

WGCUS BRYANT.

MONTEILH EXPLAINS WHAT ALL THIS MEANS FOR VOTERS TO BE COMING.

MEANS FOR VOTERS TO BE COMING.

>> AS IT PERTAINS TO HOW COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ARE ELECTED.

LEE COUNTY'S LARGEST OF FLORIDA'S 67 COUNTIES THAT ELECTS COMMISSIONERS THROUGH COUNTYWIDE ELECTIONS.

A BILL TO CHANGE HOW OUR COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ELECTED WAS SPONSORED BY REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE.

MY IS YEAR LUMBAR DO AND HAS BEEN CHAMPIONED BY LEE PROPERTY APPRAISER.

MATT CALDWELL FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS.

PROPONENTS ARGUE THE LEGISLATION AIMS TO INCREASE LOCAL REPRESENTATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY.

SPEND CONSIDERATION OF SINGLE-MEMBER DISTRICTS FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.

>> THEY'RE OF THE 8 LARGEST COUNTIES IN FLORIDA.

LEE COUNTY IS THE ONLY COUNTY THAT STILL HAS EXCLUSIVE MEMBER AT-LARGE ELECTIONS FOR THE COUNTY COMMISSION.

SO IT'S BEEN UNDERSTOOD TO BE AN ISSUE FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.

SINGLE MEMBER DISTRICT VOTING WILL ALLOW VOTERS.

>> THE OPPORTUNITY TO CHOOSE THEIR SPECIFIC COMMISSIONER.

>> INSTEAD OF ALL 5 DISTRICTS DECIDED BY A COUNTYWIDE VOTE.

SUPPORTERS SAY IT WILL ALSO REDUCED THE NEED FOR MAJOR FUNDRAISING AS CANDIDATES WOULD ONLY NEED TO CAMPUS VOTERS IN THEIR DISTRICT.

I THINK IT WOULD BE GOOD TO OPEN UP.

SO COULD BE MORE.

>> WELL, ROUNDED HAVE OTHER PEOPLE VOICE THEIR OPINIONS.

AND IT CAN CHANGE THE COURSE OF.

THE ELECTION.

>> ACCORDING TO THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS IN AT LEAST 14 OF 23 PASSES ELECTIONS, INCLUDING 2024, THE CANDIDATE WHO WON THE MAJORITY IN THEIR DISTRICT WAS NOT ELECTED TO THE COMMISSION AND THE COUNTY WIDE ARE AT LARGE ELECTION CASE IN POINT.

AMANDA COCHRAN, WHO IS CURRENTLY RUNNING FOR THE LEE COUNTY COMMISSION DISTRICT 5 SEAT THAT DISTRICT ENCOMPASSES MORE RULE AND UNINCORPORATED COMMUNITIES, INCLUDING BUCKINGHAM TIES AND PARTS OF LEHIGH ACRES.

THE LATE MIKE GREENWELL DEFEATED HER IN THE COUNTY WIDE RACE.

DESPITE COCHRAN WINNING ABOUT 65% OF THE VOTE FROM RESIDENTS WHO LIVED IN THE DISTRICT.

I CAME CLOSE.

I'VE GOT 45% OF THE OVERALL VOTE.

>> BUT I DID WIN 65% OF MY DISTRICT AND 15 OUT OF 17 OF THOSE PRECINCTS.

I WON THE ELECTION DAY VOTES AND EARLY VOTING.

IT WAS THE MAIL-IN BALLOTS THAT ULTIMATELY DECIDED THAT ELECTION FOR BUYERS VOTING.

>> MELBOURNE, MORGAN WAS A TRAILBLAZER.

SHE'S THE ONLY BLACK PERSON TO HAVE SERVED AS A LEE COUNTY COMMISSIONER IN 1983, MORGAN WAS APPOINTED TO THE POSITION BY GOVERNOR BOB GRAHAM AT THE RECOMMENDATION.

THEN STATE REPRESENTATIVE FRANK MANN MORGAN SERVED FOR MORE THAN A YEAR AND A HALF.

BUT THEN LOST HER ELECTION BID.

SHE SEES THE IMPORTANCE OF DIVERSE REPRESENTATION AND HOW ELECTED OFFICIALS PROVIDE A VOICE TO THE UNDERREPRESENTED.

I ENJOYED HELPING PEOPLE.

>> THE AVERAGE PERSON IN BODY.

THE AVERAGE PERSON.

I JUST HELP PEOPLE.

AND I LOVED IT.

PEOPLE LOOK AT HOW YOU TREAT THEM.

>> AND THAT WAS ANOTHER THING.

MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME.

>> HOW YOU TREAT PEOPLE.

AND I DON'T CARE WHERE I GO.

WHEN I GO THERE.

I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN TREATED WELL.

YOU TREAT PEOPLE WELL.

YOU DON'T TREAT THEM WRONG.

>> WE ASKED SOME LEE COUNTY VOTERS, THEIR THOUGHTS ON REPRESENTATION AND THE PROPOSED REFERENDUM.

>> YES, MORE REPRESENTATION EXACTLY.

FOR THE CULTURE OF THE TOWN AND THAT THE WAY PEOPLE.

WANT THEIR GOVERNMENT TO BEING THEIR LIVES OR NOT.

>> THAT BEING THE LITTLE COMMUNITIES WOULD HAVE THEIR VOICE ON WHO THEY.

WHAT ELECTED IT WOULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE VERSUS AND EVERY MONDAY TO VOTING THROUGH THE EVENING.

AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE NEED.

DIVERSITY.

FAIRNESS.

>> THE OVERALL MESSAGE THAT I WANT TO SEND 2.

LEE COUNTY RESIDENTS IS THAT I JUST WANT THEM TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO VOTE ON IT.

IF THE RESIDENTS VOTE ON THIS ISSUE AND THEY DECIDE THAT THEY WANT TO KEEP AT LARGE AND I SUPPORT THEM BECAUSE THE VOTERS HAVE SPOKEN.

>> FOR WGCU NEWS, I'M BRYANT MONTEILH >> LAST WEEK GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS SIGNED A BILL INTO LAW THAT WILL REQUIRE VOTERS IN FLORIDA TO SHOW PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP BEFORE THEY CAN REGISTER TO VOTE.

THE FLORIDA LEGISLATION IS MODELED AFTER THE FEDERAL SAVE AMERICA ACT THAT REMAINS STALLED IN CONGRESS.

THE SAME DAY THE GOVERNOR SIGNED THE MEASURE INTO LAW.

VOTING RIGHTS GROUPS AND OTHERS FILED LEGAL CHALLENGES ARGUING THAT THE LAW IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

JOINING ME NOW FOR AN EXPLANATION OF WHAT IS CURRENTLY GOING ON WITH THIS LAW AND HOW IT WILL IMPACT US IN FLORIDA IS WGCU HOST AND REPORTER JOHN DAVIS.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

JOHN.

OF COURSE, THE SUPPORTERS OF THIS MEASURE SAY THEIR WHOLE ENTIRE GOAL IS TO PREVENT ELECTION FRAUD AND PROTECT THE INTEGRITY OF THE ELECTION PROCESS.

WHAT DOES THE LAW ACTUALLY DO?

>> SO THIS WOULD REQUIRE ALL VOTERS TO PRESENT A PASSPORT OR BIRTH CERTIFICATE OR SIMILAR DOCUMENT IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO REGISTER TO VOTE.

THEY'RE CURRENTLY, YOU KNOW, SOME 21 MILLION AMERICANS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING THOUSANDS OF FLORIDIANS WHO DON'T HAVE READY ACCESS TO THESE DOCUMENTS.

SO THAT IS ONE CONCERN THE BILL WOULD ELIMINATE.

STUDENT ID'S AS AN ACCEPTABLE FORM OF ID TO REGISTER TO VOTE.

AND IT ELIMINATES COMMUNITY ID'S AS AN ACCEPTABLE FORM OF IDENTIFICATION TO VOTE.

SO THAT'S KIND OF BROAD THAT COVERS LIKE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION ID'S RETIREMENT COMMUNITY ID'S.

AND SO THESE ARE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, SENIORS WHO MAYBE HAVEN'T KEPT UP WITH THEIR DRIVER'S LICENSE BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT DRIVING ANYMORE, WOULD TYPICALLY USE.

AND THOSE WOULD NO LONGER BE AVAILABLE TO THEM.

FLORIDA'S LAW ALSO, INTERESTINGLY REQUIRES CANDIDATES FOR PUBLIC OFFICE TO DISCLOSE WHETHER THEY HAVE DUAL CITIZENSHIP AND TO THIS CLOSE, YOU KNOW, WHETHER AS IN THEIR FEDERAL POSITIONS THEY INTEND TO TRADE STOCKS WHILE IN OFFICE.

SO THAT'S KIND OF AN INTERESTING OFFICER.

THAT'S NOT THE MAIN POINT OF THESE LAWSUITS.

BUT I JUST I THOUGHT WAS INTERESTING WAS VERY INTERESTING.

BILL.

THE GOVERNOR SIGNED THIS LAW AND IMMEDIATELY VOTING RIGHTS GROUPS AND THEY THEY'RE FILING LEGAL CHALLENGES.

>> WHAT'S WHAT'S BEHIND THEIR ARGUMENTS AGAINST THIS?

SO THEIR ARGUMENTS ROOM AND THEN THERE'S 2, ONE IS FILED IN THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA AND A SECOND LAWSUIT IS FILED IN THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA.

>> BUT BOTH OF THEIR ARGUMENTS ARE ROOTED IN WHAT THEY ALLEGE ARE VIOLATIONS OF THE FIRST AND 14TH AMENDMENT.

SO THE FIRST AMENDMENT, OF COURSE, PROTECTS FREE SPEECH AND ASSOCIATION, INCLUDING POLITICAL PARTICIPATION.

SO THEY'RE ARGUING THAT VOTING, YOU KNOW, IS A FORM OF POLITICAL EXPRESSION.

THERE'S PRECEDENT HERE.

COURTS HAVE RECOGNIZED THE PARTICIPATING IN ELECTIONS IS TIED TO CORE POLITICAL SPEECH AND ASSOCIATION.

AND, YOU KNOW, THEY SAY THAT IT COULD RESTRICT OR CHILL VOTER PARTICIPATION.

SO FOR THE 14TH AMENDMENT, THEIR ARGUMENT THERE IS THAT THIS LAW VIOLATES THE DUE PROCESS CLAUSE BECAUSE IT MAY CREATE BARRIERS WITHOUT SUFFICIENT JUSTIFICATION LIKE THESE COMPLEX ID REQUIREMENTS.

ALSO, THERE IS CONCERN OVER CONFUSING OR INCONSISTENT ENFORCEMENT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE GOING TO BE SPECIFIC DEMOGRAPHICS WHO ARE GOING TO BE MORE ADVERSELY IMPACT.

AND SPEAKING OF THOSE DEMOGRAPHICS.

>> MY UNDERSTANDING IS THERE'S CONCERN THAT THERE'S REALLY 2 GROUPS THAT WILL BE DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY THIS LAW.

COLLEGE STUDENTS AND SENIOR CITIZENS PLACE THAT WE HAVE.

THAT'S AN INTERESTING ONE.

I DIDN'T THINK MUCH OF THIS AT FIRST WHEN I FIRST READ MICHAEL, IF YOU CAN'T USE A COLLEGE.

>> STUDENT ID LIKE WHY WOULD THAT BE A BIG DEAL?

WHY WOULDN'T YOU JUST USED A PURE DRIVER'S LICENSE?

THERE WAS A STUDY FROM PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE COMPANY THAT LOOKING AT FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION DATA SHOWED THAT 80% OF 18 YEAR-OLDS IN THE U.S.

HAD DRIVERS LICENSES IN THE EARLY 1980'S BY 2022, THAT WAS DOWN TO 59%.

SO IT'S JUST KIND OF A CHANGE IN DEMOGRAPHICS.

YOU KNOW, GETTING THAT DRIVER'S LICENSES IS NOT THE COVETED GOLD HAD THEM FOR TEENAGERS OF OUR GENERATION.

AND SO THIS COULD, YOU KNOW, CREATE AN INTERESTING BARRIER FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS.

IT IMAGINES OUT OF STATE COLLEGE STUDENTS WHO WANT TO VOTE IN LOCAL ELECTIONS WHERE THEY LIVE IN FLORIDA.

NOW THEY MIGHT NEED TO GET A STATE ISSUED ID AND FLORIDA JUST TO BE ABLE TO VOTE.

AND OF COURSE, A PASSPORT GETTING ISSUED.

A STATE ISSUED ID.

YOU KNOW, ALL THESE THINGS, COST MONEY AND TAKE TIME.

AS FAR AS SENIORS, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THIS SOUNDS ODD, BUT THERE ARE SOME OLDER FOLKS WHO WERE BORN AT HOME AND MAY NOT ACTUALLY HAVE A BIRTH CERTIFICATE.

AND AS I STATED EARLIER, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU DO GET OLDER AND DRIVING IS NO LONGER ON THE TABLE, KEEPING UP WITH YOUR STATE ISSUE, DRIVER'S LICENSES AND SO MUCH A PRIORITY.

SO THESE HAVE BEEN FORMS OF ID THEY'VE USED IN THE PAST THAT THERE ARE NOW NO LONGER BE ABLE TO JUST CREATES MORE HURDLES.

I KNOW MY SON GOT HIS DRIVER'S LICENSE AT AGE 20.

>> SPEAKING TO YOUR POINT.

SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY DON'T THINK ABOUT WITH THE CURRENT GENERATION, BUT IT COULD DEFINITELY PRESENT A CHALLENGE.

THIS IS AIMED AT PREVENTING VOTER FRAUD.

WHAT ARE THE INSTANCES OF VOTER FRAUD?

DO YOU HAVE ANY STATS ON THAT OR INFORMATION ABOUT THAT?

YOU KNOW, WE DO SO THERE.

THERE'S KIND OF 3 MAIN TYPES OF VOTER FRAUD.

THE FIRST IS EXTREMELY WHERE TO THE POINT OF BEING ALMOST NONEXISTENT.

AND THIS IS, YOU KNOW, MAIL BALLOT FRAUD TAMPERING WITH ABSENTEE BALLOTS IS VERY RARE AS WELL.

DOUBLE VOTING.

THAT'S WHERE SOMEONE REGISTERS IN VOTES IN 2 DIFFERENT PLACES.

THIS IS THE MOST COMMON TYPE OF VOTER FRAUD.

BUT AGAIN, IT'S STILL QUITE RARE.

THE BIG PICTURE, AS YOU KNOW, U.S.

ELECTIONS INVOLVED TENS OF MILLIONS OF VOTES AND CONFIRMED FRAUD CASES ARE TYPICALLY IN THE DOZEN TO A FEW 100, YOU KNOW, NOT THOUSANDS OR MILLIONS SO STATISTICALLY, THIS REALLY ISN'T CONSIDERED A SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM BECAUSE WHILE IT DOES EXIST EXIST, IT'S SUCH SMALL LEVELS THAT IT IT'S NOT IMPACTING THE RESULTS OF ELECTIONS.

THERE WAS A MAJOR STUDY FROM THE BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE THAT FOUND 3.10, THOUSANDS OF A PERCENT.

2 POINT '02, 5%, OF BALLOTS INVOLVED INVOLVE SUSPECTED FRAUD.

SO IN SHORT, YOU'RE STATISTICALLY MORE LIKELY TO BE STRUCK BY LIGHTNING THAN YOU ARE TO ENCOUNTER A VOTER FOR.

OH, MY GOODNESS.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH, JOHN, FOR EXPLAINING US TODAY.

THANKS.

>> COMING UP, WE BROUGHT YOU >> COMING UP, WE BROUGHT YOU STORIES ABOUT SOUTHWEST FLORIDA COMPANIES BEING RECOGNIZED IN THIS YEAR'S EDISON AWARDS.

SO WHAT ABOUT THE HISTORY THAT COMBINES AND THAT MAIN WITH TODAY'S INNOVATORS?

THAT'S COMING UP NEXT ON SOUTHWEST FLORIDA.

IN FOCUS.

IN A LITTLE MORE THAN A WEEK FROM NOW, THE PRESENTATION OF THE 39TH ANNUAL EDISON AWARDS WILL TAKE PLACE IN FORT MYERS.

WHY ARE THEY HERE IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA?

HERE'S THE BACKGROUND BEHIND THE INVENTOR THAT BROUGHT HIM HERE AND WHY THOSE AWARDS ARE NAMED AFTER HIM.

>> YOU MAY THINK OF FORT MYERS FOR ITS SUNSHINE AND SAND YET HISTORY BUFFS KNOW FORT MYERS AS THE WINTER ESCAPE FOR 2 OF THE MOST INNOVATIVE MINDS IN AMERICAN HISTORY.

SURE.

THOMAS EDISON AND HENRY FORD CHANGE THE WORLD, BUT THEY ALSO LEFT AN IMPACT ON FORT MYERS TODAY, THE PLACE WHERE THEY WORKED LIVED AND PLAYED STILL STICKS.

>> THE EDISON FORD WINTER ESTATES, PART OF THE HOMES GARDENS AND LABORATORY.

THOMAS EDISON AND HENRY FORD.

WE HAVE THE WENT TO MOUNT A PROMISE OF A SUDDEN HENRY FORD HERE AS WELL AS 20 PLUS ACRES OF BEAUTIFUL GARDENS.

ONLY STOP ARE BACK WITH HIM AND IN A RESEARCH LABORATORY AS WELL.

>> IN THE LATE 18, 100'S FORT MYERS WAS A SMALL CATTLE TOWN, REACHABLE ONLY BY RIVER, INCLUDING THIS PROPERTY WHERE EDISON BUILT HIS WINTER HOME.

>> AND A SON WAS HERE IN FORT MYERS IN 18.

85.

HE IS ORIGINALLY FROM NEW JERSEY AND HE'S ONE OF THE FIRST SNOW BIRDS CAN SAY FOR THE AREA.

WE CAME HERE TO ESCAPE THE HARSH WINTERS IN NEW JERSEY AND THE RECOMMENDED BY HIS DOCTORS AT THE TIME TO FIND SOME MORE WATER TO BE AND EVENTUALLY WHEN HENRY HENRY FORD TO FRIENDS, HE WAS ONE OF AT A SINCE VISITORS TO FORT MYERS.

>> EDISON BOUGHT 13 ACRES ALONG THE RIVER AND IS CREDITED WITH A BIG PART OF GETTING THE CITY RECOGNIZED AT US IN REALLY JUST BROUGHT A LOT OF ATTENTION TO FORT MYERS.

HE WAS ALREADY A VERY NOTABLE.

>> INVENTOR, HE HE HAS FIRED OVER 1000 US ITEMS IN HIS LIFETIME.

ONE OF HIS BIGGEST INVENTION OF ALL TIME, OF COURSE, WAS THE WHITE BALL AND WHEN HE ARRIVED IN FORT MYERS, HE HAD FINALIZED THAT PREVENTION OF THE LIGHT.

LAFAYETTE AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU NOTICE THAT WAS VERY UNIQUE OF THE PROPERTY WAS BANNED.

YOU.

WE HAVE A LOT OF THEM DO GROWING ON THE PROPERTY.

AND THAT WAS HERE IN 85.

>> THAT IS ARRIVED IN FORT MYERS WITH THE IDEA.

BUT IT WAS THE BAMBOO GROWING ON THE PROPERTY THAT SPARKED A MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH WHEN HE TRIED USING IT AS A FILAMENT.

>> THOUGH IT WASN'T THE FINAL PRODUCT.

IT WAS A TURNING POINT FOR THE INVENTION TO SELECT FROM JUST BURNING FOR A FEW SECONDS TO A FEW HOURS.

SO HELP US AND REALIZE WHAT TYPE OF CONSISTENCY HE NEEDED TO USE FOR THAT MOMENT.

>> AND HE DIDN'T STOP THERE SINCE WINTER RETREAT BECAME A RESEARCH HUB FOR BOTANICAL EXPERIMENTS, INCLUDING ONE OF HIS MOST AMBITIOUS IDEAS, FINDING A DOMESTIC SOURCE FOR RUBBER.

>> THOMAS EDISON, HENRY FORD AND HARVEY FIRESTONE CAME TOGETHER TO CREATE THE EDISON PATINA RESOURCE CORPORATION AND THE 3 OF THEM REALLY FUNDED THE PROJECT OF ROBERT RESEARCH SAID, THOUGH, ADDISON FRONTLINE HIT THAT 3 OF THOSE MEN TOGETHER WORK TOGETHER AND REALLY WE'RE TRYING TO FIND THAT DOMESTIC SOURCES.

ROBERT, FOLLOWING THE FIRST WORLD WAR AND THEY REALLY THOUGHT IT WOULD BE REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE'RE ABLE TO SUSTAIN OURSELVES AND NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT HIM FOR A DAY.

>> THAT ISN'T GARDENS BECAME HIS LAP.

HE TESTED EVERYTHING FROM BANYAN TREES TO FRAGRANT PLANTS AND EDIBLES.

MANY OF THESE PLANTS ARE STILL GROWING ON THE PROPERTY TODAY.

>> WE HAVE THE LARGEST PAINTING TREE IN THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES.

IT IS THE SECOND LARGEST IN THE UNITED BECAUSE THE LARGEST CITY WHY WE ARE VERY CLOSE.

SECOND.

AND IT'S ONE OF OUR CHAMPION TREES HERE.

IT'S OVER 100 YEARS OLD.

I SAID BY THOMAS EDISON HIMSELF, AND HE JUST DIDN'T REMEMBER RESEARCH AT THE TIME.

>> SO HOW DID HENRY FORD FIT IN?

WELL, LIKE MANY INNOVATORS OF HIS ERA, IF YOU LOOKED UP TO EDISON AND THEIR FRIENDSHIP TURNED INTO NEIGHBORLY VISITS.

>> WORD FIRST VISITED THE STATE IN 1914, HE WAS PROMISED AT HIS BEST IN THE STATE IN THE GUEST HOME HERE.

SO THAT WAS PRIOR TO BUYING HIS OWN STATE EXTORT A ONE C THAT HAVE HIS OWN ESTATE HEAP CAME TO VISIT ABOUT ONCE A YEAR AROUND THOMAS EDISON'S BIRTHDAY AND THEY WOULD CELEBRATE TOGETHER BY GOING ON CAMPING TRIPS WITH HARVEY, FIRESTONE AND A FEW OTHER NOTABLE MEN IN THE AREA AND THEY WOULD EXPLORE THE EVERGLADES.

OTHER.

>> TODAY YOU CAN WALK THE SAME PATH AS THESE LEGENDS TO AND EVEN PEEK INSIDE THEIR HOMES.

BOTH HOMES STILL STAND AND ARE PRESERVED AS YOU WOULD HAVE FOUND THEM MORE THAN A CENTURY AGO.

>> ALL THE FURNISHINGS AND BOTH HIS EDITS, THE MAIN HOME.

AND GUESS WHAT?

OUR ORIGINAL TO THE FAMILIES YOU CAN REALLY SEE AND VISUALIZE HOW THAT LIVE HERE AS WELL AS PLANTS THAT ARE ALIVE AND THRIVING.

>> AND IF YOU'RE INTO CARS, THIS PIT STOP WON'T DISAPPOINT.

>> I WOULD SAY A HUGE STAPLE FOR US IS OUR IT'S OURS OVER CARS TO REDUCE NO RUN.

AND HENRY FORD, BUT A LOT OF FIGHTS IN THE ARTIST'S BACK THEN BUILT IN SUCH WAYS THEY LASTED OVER THE YEARS AND WE PUT A LOT OF PRESERVATION EFFORTS INTO PEOPLE'S CARS RUNNING AS WELL.

WE HAVE ONE REALLY MODIFIED MODEL T PUBLIC FRIDAY AND IT HAS A BUILT-IN ORGAN IN THE BACK.

>> BUT LIFE AT THE ESTATE WASN'T ALWAYS RESEARCH AND INVENTIONS AT US AND ENJOYED SOME OF THE RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES.

FORT MYERS HAS TO OFFER LIKE FISHING WITH THIS ON CHARLES.

>> TARPON FISHING WAS HUGE IN FORT MYERS AND STILL IS AND A FUNNY STORY IS THAT HIS SON, CHARLES AND THOMAS EDISON, WENT OUT AND WENT FISHING TOGETHER.

CHARLES CAME HOME WITH 100 POUND THIS AND PROMISED CAME HOME WITH A 40 POUND IT SO THAT WAS ONE THING CHARLES SAID THAT HE WAS ABLE TO BEAT HIS FATHER AT WAS FISHING.

>> TODAY THE EDISON AND FORD ESTATES ARE MORE THAN A MUSEUM.

IS THERE A PLACE WHERE HISTORY HORTICULTURE AND INVENTION ALL COME TO LIFE?

FROM BAMBOO TO LIGHT POLES TO BANYAN TREES.

THESE INVENTORS LEFT THEIR MARK IN FORT MYERS AND MORE THAN A CENTURY LATER, THEIR LEGACY STILL LIGHTS UP.

FLORIDA'S SOUTHWEST COAST.

YOU CAN READ ABOUT THINGS ALL DAY, BUT IT'S VERY DIFFERENT WHEN YOU COME EXPERIENCE IT YOURSELF.

>> AND SEE HOW PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO LIVE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TIME NEEDED.

THERE WAS NO A C HOMESICK IS VERY OPEN AND ON THE RIVER ARE SURPRISINGLY COOL.

>> COMING UP ON THE NEXT SOUTHWEST, FLORIDA IN FOCUS.

WE KNOW ABOUT THE DANGERS OF BLUE GREEN ALGAE.

BUT ARE WE GETTING THE INFORMATION ON TIME?

WE'RE FINDING OUT FOR YOU ON TOMORROW'S SOUTHWEST FLORIDA IN FOCUS.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.

MAKE SURE YOU HEAD TO WGCU DOT ORG.

THAT'S WHERE YOU'LL FIND ALL OF OUR STORIES.

THANKS FOR JOINING US AGAIN AND WE'LL SEE YOU BACK HERE TOMORROW.